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Modern manners help transform India's ritual past
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But rites are becoming more sophisticated among the cashed-up middle classes. Modern beauty treatments - from manicures to day spas - are in huge demand in the lead-up to the festival.
Some women even have pre-festival cosmetic surgery. Beauty salons in the northern city of Chandigarh reported an unprecedented rush for Botox, filler injections, skin peeling and other cosmetic makeovers. One plastic surgeon had a 100 per cent increase in clients on Karva Chauth eve.
Once the preserve of married women, Karva Chauth is now being celebrated by the unmarried too.
These brides-to-be fast in the hope of finding a good man. ''Getting a good and supportive life partner is challenge these days,'' said Karishna, a young woman on the fast.
- In a push for gender equity, some husbands now join their wives on the fast.
- One of Kiran's customers, Kandna Makkar, said she and her husband fasted together. ''It's a symbol of our love,'' she said.
- This year, gay men have gone public about how they observe the fast of Karva Chauth for their partners.
- For many, the chauvinist overtones of Karva Chauth seem to be overshadowed by its romance.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Modern manners help transform India's ritual past
